1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a combined insert for aligning fiberglass tool handles during attachment to tools and for concealing the end of the handle and providing a finished appearance for the tool.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Handles made of wood are designed to fit into a tool eye by being driven until compressed. Because the wood is in complete contact with the sides of the eye hole, the handle is properly aligned. When a handle is attached by use of an adhesive, as a fiberglass handle must be, the portion of the handle which is inside the eye hole must be smaller than the hole size of the eye in order to allow for a glue line. This glue line space creates a need of proper handle/head alignment.
At the present time, special jigs must be used to hold the tool head and handle against movement with respect to each other during the curing of the potting adhesive. Since the potting compound requires one or more hours to dry and cure, a large number of special jigs is required, with a high financial investment in such special tooling and factory space.
Tool handle attachment with the methods and devices now in use is accordingly costly in equipment, labor, time and factory space.
Another difficulty with the present methods and equipment is that the assembled tools must be kept in their jigs during the entire curing operation. Production is accordingly limited by the number of available jigs, their space requirements, etc.
At the present time, fiberglass tool handles are mounted in tool heads with the ends of the handles exposed within the tool head opening. The handle is customarily white or some other color which contrasts with the surrounding epoxy resin or other potting compound which forms the connection between the handle and tool head. Potting, for various causes, will often sink, bubble or have a poor surface finish. The result is that the end of the tool is unsightly and must be painted or coated so that it presents a more attractive appearance to a purchaser. The painting and drying operations required add more steps to the assembly operation, which steps require added expense and materials, labor, and manufacturing time.
In our application Ser. No. 473,724, there is disclosed a resilient molded insert adapted to be disposed within a tool head opening at the time the handle is inserted. The insert has integral portions which fit between the handle and tool head opening to hold the handle and tool head in proper and stationary alignment with each other.
Because the center portion of the insert was substantially equal in its dimensions to those of the narrow end of the tool head opening, it was necessary to use with said insert an end plug in the larger outer end of the opening in order to conceal the assembly and provide a finished appearance for the tool.
Such an end plug is disclosed in our application Ser. No. 473,723, in which the potting compound which is used to hold the handle to the tool head is also used to hold the end plug within the wider end of the tool head opening. The plug thereby provided a cosmetic finish for the tool and a location for indicia such as a logo, patent information, part number, warning notice, etc.